Observer's guide
About Antennae Galaxies
Antennae Galaxies (C61) is catalogued as a galaxy in Corvus. Its J2000 position is RA 12:01:53, Dec -18:53:02, corresponding to 180.473 degrees RA and -18.8862 degrees Dec. The local catalogue places it about 83,000,000 light-years away. Its referenced angular extent is approximately 3.1 by 1.6 arcminutes.
Observing tips
This is rated as a very hard target at magnitude 10.4. It is associated with spring observing, with midnight placement typically strongest around March. From 52 degrees north its theoretical meridian altitude is about 19.1 degrees; local horizons and the live altitude chart determine the practical window.
Because it is faint, use a larger aperture where possible, avoid bright Moon conditions, and use averted vision.
What to expect
The SIMBAD classification for the matched source is GiP. SIMBAD records the morphology as Sc. A published radial velocity value is 1636.5 km/s. The SIMBAD record currently connects it to 1177 bibliographic references.
At roughly 3.1 arcminutes across, it benefits from a narrower field and adequate image scale. Use the listed 3.1 by 1.6 arcminute extent to check framing, and treat catalogue magnitude as integrated brightness rather than a direct measure of visual contrast.